Variable speed and load control hydraulic system



Nov. 17, 1970 J. D. HOSTUTLER VARIABLE SPEED AND LOAD CONTROL HYDRAULIC SYSTEM Filed March 17, 1969 INVENTOR. John D. Hostutler ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,540,296 VARIABLE SPEED AND LOAD CONTROL HYDRAULIC SYSTEM John D. Hostutler, R0. Box 816, Fort Stockton, Tex. 79735 Filed Mar. 17, 1969, Ser. No. 807,837 Int. Cl. Flfih 3/44, 37/02 US. Cl. 7415.4 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hydraulic system operated by power produced by the transportation equipment used to transport the system, operable at varying speeds, operable to perform a number of tasks necessary to drill holes in the ground, and capable of automatically becoming inoperable in the event of overloading.

This invention relates to hydraulic control systems and more particularly to such a system for varying the speed of and the torque exerted by a drive-shaft in combination with a hydraulic lifting mechanism from a single power source.

Although my invention is described here in terms of such a system to be used in combination with a Seismographic drilling rig in areas of the country where conventional power sources are not available, it is not intended to be limited to such use.

In the majority of instances during the exploration for oil and gas (and other minerals, for that matter) power sources to operate the drilling equipment are not available, other than the vehicle transporting the explorers. Due to the nature of the terrain, it is usually diflicult to get a small truck, jeep, or other versatile equipment to the location desired, and it is often impossible to move even one stationary power source to the location.

Such being the problem faced by exploration crews, it became evident that some means should be developed to utilize the power produced by the transportation equipment to perform a number of tasks necessary to drill holes in the ground for seismographic purposes. At the same time it was found necessary that the power supply be capable of driving the rotary drilling mechanism as well as erecting it. Also, it was found necessary that the drilling mechanism be operable at varying speeds and that some means be found to prevent damage to the rig in the event it became over-loaded. Of course, the system to perform these chores had to be simple, light, and economical.

Accordingly, a principal object of my invention is to provide such a hydraulic system which is operated by the power source of the transportation equipment carrying it.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a system which can perform one or more operations simultaneously from the same power supply.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide such a system whereby the drilling mechanism of a drilling rig can be operated at varying speeds by a constant power source.

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Another object of my invention is to provide such a mechanism which will discontinue operation of the drilling mechanism of the drilling rig in the event it should become over-loaded.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a system whereby the drilling rig can be erected by the same power supply as that which drives the drilling mechanism.

Additional objects will be apparent from a study of the following disclosures and attached claims in conjunc tion with the drawings, wherein:

The figure is a schematic representation of my invention.

Referring to the figure, the construction of my invention will be described after which its operation will be explained.

CONSTRUCTION A planetary gear train 10 is connected to a rotating source 11 by a sprocket chain 12 or other means by which power is transferred from source 11 to the gear train 10. The gear train 10 is of the conventional type containing intermeshing gears such that shafts 13 and 15 can be caused to rotate at the same speed or at different speeds. Shafts 13 and 15 are connected to the sun gear and the ring gear, respectively, of gear train 10.

Shaft 15 is connected to a conventional gear train 18 which is connected to the drilling mechanism of a drilling rig (not shown). The rotation of shaft 15 can be decreased or stopped by brake 16 (consisting of a brake drum and band) operated by handle 17.

Shaft 13 is connected to a conventional hydraulic pump 14 which has a supply line 20 and discharge line 21. Supply line 20 is connected at its opposite end to a sump 19 containing water or other liquid 19a.

Discharge line 21 is connected to a load control bypass valve 22 Which in turn is connected to a supply line 24 and a by-pass line 26. By-pass valve 22 contains an adjustment mechanism 23, which is adjustable after installation in such manner that it will open, when a predetermined pressure is exerted in discharge line 21, to permit the fluid in line 21 to pass through valve 22, line 26, T 27, and line 28 into the sump 19. By-pass valve 22 never closes the connection between line 21 and line 24.

Line 24 contains a throttle valve 25 having a handle 25A. When this handle is in the position labeled A line 24 is open. When this handle is in the position labeled B line 24 is completely closed. Of course, when handle 25A is between the positions A and B the line is opened to a lesser degree than when it is at position A.

Line 24 is connected to a four-way valve 30, such as a Vickers valve on the market today. Valve 30 has three outlets which are connected to line 32, line 33, and line 29. This valve is constructed in such manner that the fluid from line 24 can be directed into either line 32, line 33, or line 29 but not into two or more of said lines simultaneously. Furthermore, when fluid from line 24 is directed through the valve into line 32 (first condition), fluid in line 33 will be discharged through the valve into line 29 and line 28 into sump 19. Conversely, when fluid is directed from line 24 through valve 30 into line 33 (second condition), fluid will flow from line 32 through the valve into lines 29 and 28 into the sump 19.

3 Also, fiuid can be directed from line 24 through valve 30 directly into lines 29 and 28 and into the sump 19 (third condition). In this latter event fluid does not flow through either line 32 or line 33 but is static in these lines.

When the handle 31 of valve 30 is in the position labeled A the first condition described in the immediately preceding paragraph obtains. Likewise, when handle 31 is in the positions labeled B and C, the second and third conditions described in the immediately preceding paragraph obtain, respectively.

Two-way cylinder 34 is a hydraulic cylinder containing a piston 34a connected to piston rod 35 which in turn has a connection 36 to permit the rod to be connected to any external device (not shown). Line 32 is connected to the lower portion of cylinder 34 and line 33 is connected to the upper portion of cylinder 34. Of course, when fluid flows through line 32 into the cylinder 34 the piston 34a is moved upwardly and fluid flows from the upper portion of the cylinder 34 out into line 33.

The entire hydraulic system just described is carried by the truck or other transportation equipment which also may be the power input source 11. The immediate source 11 can be, for example, either a rear axle or the drive shaft of the truck. Of course, gear train 18 leads away from the truck to the drilling rig and cylinder 34 is connected to the mast of the rig to be raised.

OPERATION With the drilling rig at the location desired, the truck (not shown) is positioned in such manner that gear train 18 is connected to the drilling mechanism of the rig and cylinder 34 is in position at the mast of the rig.

Prior to transferring power from source 11 to the planetary gear train 10, handle 25a of throttle valve 25 is placed in position A and handle 31 of valve 30 is positioned in position C. Now with brake 16 set by handle 17 to prevent any rotation of shaft .15, power is applied to gear train and shaft 13 is caused to rotate at a maximum speed which depends on the gear ratio contained in gear train 10. This action causes the hydraulic pump to commence pumping fluid from sump 19 through lines 20* and 21, valve 22, line 24, valve 25, valve 30 and back to the sump 19 through lines 29 and 28. Of course, pump 14 is operating at maximum capacity at this time.

When it is desired that the drilling rig mast be raised, handle 31 is moved from position C to position A and fluid is forced through line 32 into the lower portion of cylinder 34 causing piston 34a to move upwardly, thus forcing fluid out of the upper portion of cylinder 34 and down through line 3-3 into the sump 19 through lines 29 and 28. After the rig is erected handle 31 is returned to position C and the third condition described above is in effect.

When it is desired that the rig must be lowered, handle 31 is moved to position B causing fluid to flow from valve 30 upwardly through line 33 into the upper portion of cylinder 34, thus forcing piston 34a downwardly and fluid in the lower portion of the cylinder 34 down through line 32, through valve 30 and into sump 19 through lines 29 and 28.

After the drilling rig mast has been positioned as desired and gear train 18 has been connected to the rotary drilling shaft (not shown) rotation of the drilling shaft is commenced in order to drill the hole in the ground as desired. As described before, power is being applied to planetary gear train 10 and handle 31 is in position C. Handle .17 is employed to release the brake 16 and shaft '15 commences to rotate causing gear train 18 to rotate. Shaft will commece to rotate at one-half /2) of its maximum rotational speed (depending on the gear ratio between the ring gear and sun gear, this fraction can be varied during manufacture of gear train 10). As

4 additional speed is desired, handle 25a of valve 25 is moved from position A toward position B. When handle 25a is moved to position B, pump 14 causes the pressure in line 21 and valve 22 to reach its maximum if the torque exerted on shaft 15 exceeds a predetermined figure. In this condition mechanism 23 will cause valve 22 to open, permitting fluid to flow through discharge lines 26 and 28 into sump 19. This, of course, causes shaft 13 to return to half of its maximum rotational speed. The rotational speed of shaft 15 can be reduced further by brake 16 through handle 17.

With handles 25a and 31 in positions A and C, respectively, shafts 13 and 15 rotate at the same speed. Depending on the gear ratio within planetary gear train 10, with handles 25a and 31 in positions A and C, respectively, and with brake 16 set to stop the rotation of shaft 15, shaft 13 rotates at its maximum speed. Likewise, with handles 25a and 31 in positions B and C, respectively, and with valve 22 closed and the brake 16 unset, shaft 15 will rotate at its maximum speed until valve 22 opens.

Of course, piston 34a and gear train 18 can be operated simultaneously by varying the positions of handles 17, 25a, and 31.

From the foregoing it is seen that by my invention I have provided a hydraulic control system which is operated by the power source of the transportation equipment carrying it.

It is further seen that by my invention I have provided such a system which can perform one or more operations simultaneously from the same power supply.

It is further seen that by my invention I have provided such a system whereby the drilling mechanism of a drilling rig can be operated at varying speeds.

It is further seen that by my invention I have provided such a mechanism which will discontinue operation of the drilling mechanism of the drilling rig in the event it should become overloaded.

It is further seen that by my invention I have provided such a system whereby the drilling rig can be erected by the same power supply as that which drives the drilling mechanism.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the attached claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hydraulic control system for use with a drilling rig comprising: planetary gear-train means receiving power from a power source; first shaft means and second shaft means connected to and rotated by said planetary gear-train means, said first shaft means capable of rotation at speeds varying from that of said second shaft means; pump means connected to said second shaft means for pumping fluid from a container through a closed circuit and returning same to said container; first valve means in said closed circuit for regulating the rate of flow of said fluid; brake means for regulating the rate of rotation of said first shaft means; and second valve means to permit said fluid to resume flowing through said closed circuit when said first valve means is closed and a predetermined load is assumed by said conventional gear-train, said system being transportable by the equipment carrying said power source.

2. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 including: third valve means in said closed circuit selectively directing said fluid to a hydraulic cylinder to actuate a piston therein and alternately to maintain said closed circuit condition.

3. The hydraulic control system of claim 1 wherein said planetary gear-train means includes ring-gear means and sun-gear means connected to said first shaft means and said second means, respectively, said ring-gear means and 5 6 said sun-gear means having such a ratio that said first References Cited and second shaft means can rotate at the same rate as UNITED STATES PATENTS well as at different rates.

4. The hydraulic control system of claim 3 wherein iii said first shaft means rotates at a maximum rate when 5 34474O0 6/1969 Semiul; 74 782 said brake means is not engaged, when said first valve means is closed, and until said second valve means opens, LEONARD GERIN, primary Examiner at which time said first and second shaft means operate at similar rates until said brake means is engaged or said U .8. Cl. X.R.

second valve means is reclosed. 10 74-782 

